Origins - Hawkmoth's Beginnings
by Remasa
Summary: Every superhero has an origin story. So does every supervillian. This is Hawkmoth's. What started out as a lovely trip to Tibet quickly turned into a nightmare. And Paris is still reeling from the aftershock. Written for Day 6 - "Tibet" for Gabriel Appreciation Week.


_Origins – Hawkmoth's Beginnings_

 _Day 6 - Tibet_

 _Every superhero has an origin story. So does every supervillian. This is Hawkmoth's. Written for Day 6 - "Tibet" for Gabriel Appreciation Week._

"Shh dear, don't nag," a melodious voice chimed with a giggle. "I told you earlier it's a surprise."

Gabriel rolled his eyes with a good-natured huff, but kept any more inquiries to himself as he allowed his wife to drag him along the pebbled path somewhere on the outskirts of Lhasa, Tibet. A small smile formed on his face as he watched the late May light bounce off her hair, illuminating the strands into golden sparkles that stole his breath away. In his other hand, he clutched a small sachet packed by one of the locals.

"I'm merely inquiring as to how much longer I have to hold our food instead of ingesting it," Gabriel retorted. He shrugged his shoulders to shift his thick coat better on his lanky frame. Though the warm sun shone bright, the wind whipped through the countryside and bit at him through the exposed openings in his jacket.

His wife turned back to him. He took that opportunity to pull her towards him. She stumbled with a small gasp of surprise before finding herself wrapped securely in his arms. "Hmph," she pouted, "I would thank you for catching me, but as it was your fault I stumbled in the first place, I'm not so certain thanks are warranted."

Gabriel chuckled and tilted her chin to press a loving kiss to her lips. "I'll always be here to catch you," he murmured. When they separated, he held up a brilliant orange-and-red streaked tulip in one hand. He offered it to her.

"Oh, Gabriel," his wife gasped. "It's gorgeous." She looked around. "But I don't see any tulips growing here. Where did you get it?"

The designer's smile grew. "In town. You might have missed the stand because you were too busy _gushing_ over that tray of beads."

His wife scoffed. "Well that just gave you the opportunity to be a little sneaky," she replied, running her hands down the front of his coat. She peeked up at him through her lashes and his heart stopped.

"You're beautiful," he said, his eyes as soft as his voice as he admired the faint blush that blossomed on her cheeks. "And I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied, standing on tiptoes to kiss him again. When she pulled away, she tapped his nose. "But you're distracting me. We'll never get there at this rate."

"I'm okay with that," Gabriel replied. He tugged her off the side of the trail. "We could spend the rest of the day here, instead."

"Nope," his wife replied. "You are going to love this place. Trust me. I asked around last night."

With an exaggerated groan, Gabriel picked up the bag and looped it over his shoulders. "Yvette," he dragged out the word into a long whine. "How much farther? My poor aching feet." He cast a meaningful look to the side, where green grasses were beginning to yield beautiful wildflowers.

She merely beckoned with one crooked finger and a matching grin. "Come and find out, dear. If you want, you could stay here and rest your 'poor aching feet' while I go on ahead."

Gabriel straightened as if offended. "Allow you to experience life without me?" he gasped in mock surprise. "Never! We signed up for this together and we're in this together."

"Then hurry up before it gets dark, silly," she chided, fiddling with the tulip before sticking it behind her ear.

With a smile of adoration, Gabriel trailed behind her.

* * *

"Whoa," Gabriel gasped. "This is amazing."

Yvette beamed. "I'm glad you like it dear. When the locals told me about the abandoned ruins of an old temple, I knew you could probably get some inspiration from it."

Gabriel trailed his hands over the intricately carved stone pillars, most of which now lay in crumbled heaps around him. He traced a few carved designs with one finger, as if memorizing the flow and curves. "It's astounding," he mumbled, lost in the wonder around him.

They had finally reached their destination, and it did not disappoint. An enormous man-made structure loomed in the distance, towering high above the rocky path. But the walls of gray stone crumbled beneath them and the pillars lay cracked and broken. Clearly, the once-magnificent temple had been reduced to leftover rubble and rock. But the architecture and remains was more than enough to intrigue the fashion designer.

"I'm thinking I could make a jewelry line out of this mural alone," Gabriel remarked, studiously examining the wall with a critical eye, much like he eyed his models before they stepped out on the catwalk during Fashion Week. His eyes swept around the room. Something caught his attention, and he scraped his foot against the ground, sweeping away the dirt there. Faint glimmers of color shone through. He hurriedly scraped away the rest, and a breathtaking mosaic in pieces of tile greeted him.

"Beautiful," his wife whispered from beside him. Gabriel bent down to get a closer look.

"Absolutely stunning," he agreed. "The artwork. The details. This place must have been magnificent at its prime."

Gabriel stood, brushing his hands together. He took out his phone to try to snap a few pictures, but the screen remained black. "That's odd," he said. "I was certain I had a full battery before coming up here." He tapped on the buttons.

Yvette glanced over at him. "The locals said they never get reception up here. Something about the material in the stones." She laughed. "They actually said 'bad magic'."

"Bad magic?"

She shrugged. "Their words. They said not many people come up here. Local superstitions and all that. I really couldn't understand much, and they all seemed really hesitant to talk about it."

"Really? That's disappointing," Gabriel said. He put away his cell phone. "Well, I could attempt to sketch... these... but..." he trailed off, staring at something with a puzzled frown.

His wife glanced back at him, catching his deep pensive look. "What is it, dear?" she asked.

He tilted his head. "I'm not sure. This doesn't seem right." He pointed to the orientation of a few of the columns.

"What do you mean?" Yvette walked over and touched the pillar. "What's wrong with it?"

"The designs are all wrong."

She peered at it with narrowed eyes. "How can you tell? It just looks like a bunch of squiggly lines to me."

He shot her a wan smile. "It's the designer in me, I suppose. Look here," he said, pointing to one pillar. "Those wavy lines match the ground." She looked down and noticed a similar pattern of lines.

"Wow, you're right!"

"But this one on top here doesn't match. It's a bunch of harsh angles that don't... aha!" Gabriel had walked around to the other side of the pillar. "See, look here." Yvette followed, her expression still furrowed into confusion as she clearly didn't quite understand or follow her husband's logic. Gabriel pointed to the pillar with a smile. "These lines match _much_ better." He placed one finger upon his lips. "I wonder if I can..." he mused. Then, with a decisive nod, he grabbed the edge of the pillar.

"Gabriel, what are you doing?" Yvette cried, aghast. "These are ancient ruins."

"Yep," Gabriel grunted as he strained, putting his weight into pushing it around, "so they're already _ruined_. I'm trying to fix it. I think that..," another loud grunt, this time with a satisfying screeching noise and a sudden lurch, "whoa, I think that this really was supposed to face the other... way." With one last groan, the stone settled into place. "There," Gabriel gasped, brushing his hands together and stepping back to admire his work. "Now the lines match the rest of the room."

Yvette shook her head at him in exasperation. "Was that _really_ necessary?"

He grinned at her, ignoring the dirt on his jacket. "What can I say, I'm a perfectionist. It's my one weakness." He stepped closer to her. "Well, my second weakness." His voice dropped to a low drawl that caressed her skin as he bent down and brushed his fingers through her hair. "You're my first weakness," he confessed, his voice a low rumbling in her ear. She shivered and his lips quirked against her skin.

"It's the weather," she said. "It's chilly up here."

"Mmhmm," he replied, his lips still ghosting across her jawline.

"It is," she insisted with a stubborn pout. He grinned. She was irresistible when she figuratively planted her feet.

"Of course, dear," he agreed absently, more concerned with trailing feather-light kisses across her neck than pursuing an argument.

She giggled and trembled under his touch before gently pushing him away. "Behave, Gabriel," she admonished with a playful bop on his nose.

He smiled and rested his cheek on her head, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them and another pillar caught his eye. "That's odd," he said, pulling away.

"Hmm? What is it?"

Gabriel walked over to another pillar. "This one is the same way. Look," he said, pointing to the ground, where more wavy lines appeared. "The shapes are all wrong for this one." He circled around the back on a hunch. "Just as I thought. I wonder if all of these pillars are off."

"Why does it matter?" Yvette asked.

He shrugged. "It doesn't, I suppose," he answered. He narrowed his eyes. "But it's bothering me. Why is it like this? It shouldn't be that way." He tugged the top of the pillar around so the waves lined up. With a pensive frown, he headed over to the remaining pillars in each corner of the room. "Goodness, Yvette, they're _all_ out of alignment."

"Maybe you should just leave them alone," she said, watching him as he heaved and tugged the different stone columns into their proper positions.

"It goes against my instincts as a designer to leave something aesthetically off," he answered, punctuating his words with the occasional grunt.

Yvette continued watching him with an amused expression as he slowly made his way around the room, turning the tops of the various pillars so their alignment was to his satisfaction. "Are you happy?" she teased when he finished at last.

"More than you could know," he replied, sweeping her up into a hug. "Thank you for humoring me," he said.

She giggled and leaned back into his arms. He set his chin on her shoulder. "It really does look better this way," she said.

"Are you sure you're not just saying that to stroke my ego?" he teased.

"Of course not," she insisted with a laugh. "Would I ever do that?"

He pecked her cheek. "Of course you would. But I don't mind."

They stood there for a moment longer, cuddling as they admired Gabriel's handiwork. "Ready to explore the other rooms?" Yvette said at last.

"Lead on. You know I'll follow you wherever you go."

She chuckled and broke away from his embrace. "Oh? What's this?" she asked, bending down to scoop up an oddly geometric stone.

Gabriel peered at it. "It kind of looks intentionally cleaved." He rubbed his finger against one of the sides. "I've never seen such clean angles formed naturally before."

Yvette looked around. "Oh, look," she said, pointing to the end of the room. "There is a shelf of some kind over there." They headed over. "And it appears like this might go right here," she said with a smile. She placed it in the slot.

Gabriel chuckled. "You're doing it wrong," he said. "See, the waves have to point this way." He removed the stone, turned it around, and set it back in the slot. "Like this."

As the stone settled into its position, the floor trembled slightly, slowly building into a violent crescendo.

"What's happening?" Yvette asked, staring around the room.

"Earthquake?" Gabriel suggested, reaching out and grabbing her hand. A giant piece of the temple roof crashed down beside them. "We have to get out of here, no matter what it is," Gabriel said. "Let's go!"

They ran past one of the pillars when Yvette let out a gasp. "Gabriel, look!"

She pointed and he turned to see the waves lighting up on each of the pillars. The lines on the ground lit up as well with an ethereal blue glow. "Stay back," he ordered, pulling her behind him.

"What's going on?" she cried.

"I don't know," he answered, his voice strained with fear. "We need to get out of here, now!"

They turned and ran. The ceiling began to disintegrate around them. Gabriel kept glancing back over his shoulder, watching the pillars crumble... and then... vanish?

He gasped.

"What is it?" Yvette shouted.

"I... I don't know," he replied.

"Gabriel look out!"

He looked back forward just in time to dodge a giant pillow-sized boulder. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

Yvette nodded. "Yes, Gabriel. What was that?"

He looked behind him and caught glimpse of a giant black hole of energy. The boulder reached the hole and vanished. The blood drained from his face. He gulped. "We need to get out of here," he repeated, the urgency in his voice suddenly magnified.

"What is it, Gabriel?" his wife asked. "I feel like I'm getting sucked backward."

His grip on her hand tightened. "Don't let go," he ordered. He stepped forward, alarmed that it felt like he was fighting against a current of thick jelly. He glanced to the side. "Here," he said, struggling against the energy and dragging Yvette with him. He ducked behind a pillar and the pressure lessened. He pressed his stomach against the stone and wrapped his arm around the wide column to stabilize himself.

"Gabriel!"

He began to pull Yvette toward him, desperate and frantic. The opposing force grew stronger.

"Yvette, hang on!" he screamed, his hair whipped around him as the pull intensified.

"Gabriel, I can't..."

Her fingers began to slide through his. "No!" he bellowed, adrenaline surging through him. "Hang on, Yvette! Stay with me!" He tightened his grip. She reached up to claw at his wrist with her other hand, but couldn't lift her arm much past her shoulder.

"Too heavy," she grunted. She planted her feet and stared up at him, her mouth set into a determined line. With a feral yell, she jumped, putting all of her energy into connecting with his hand.

"Hold on, Yvette!"

Her hand reached his and almost immediately got slung away again.

"It's too strong," she gasped. "I can't get a foothold anymore." Her shoes scrambled over the broken stones, seeking even the tiniest crack to leverage. She stumbled to her knees, almost dragging Gabriel with her.

"Gabriel!"

With one last cry, her hand slipped from his.

And all time slowed to an impossible crawl.

"No! Yvette!" he screamed.

He watched as she sailed through the temple, her arms windmilling for a desperate pocket to grab. The terror in her eyes matching the anguish cry that ripped from his throat, raw and hoarse. His arm around the pillar slackened immediately and he jumped after her, stretching for her hand.

Too slow. Forever too slow.

"Yvette!" he cried. His hand inched toward hers. Their fingers danced in chaotic rhythm; never connecting, never touching, always a heartbeat out of sync.

He almost reached her when she hit the energy gap and vanished. Instantly, the portal closed. Gabriel collapsed onto the ground, tumbling over his feet in the immediate absence of turbulent energy. He heaved a gulp of air. The room spun around him, dizzying and nauseating. A low roar rushed in his ears.

Just as quick as the eerie silence arrived, a gigantic shockwave blasted from the portal's origin, flinging him back like a ragdoll. He slammed into another pillar. The back of his head whacked the stone with a resounding _thwack_ and darkness overtook him.

He came to hours later, covered in dust and rubble. His head throbbed with every heartbeat and his glasses sat askew on his face. With a groan, he reached up to press a shaky hand to the back of his head. It came away covered in sticky congealed blood. He gulped, swallowing down bile that rose in his throat. The back of his hand was covered in small scratches and nicks, most of which had stopped bleeding. He could assume the rest of his body fared much the same way. His ruffled hair hung in his eyes. He brushed it back and swiped some rubble off of his jacket. He fumbled around for his glasses, bending the frame out from its twisted state and settled them upon his face, clearing his vision. He blinked.

"Y-Yvette?" he called out, his voice echoing slightly in the ruins. His breath fogged in front of him and he shivered from the cold. He struggled to push himself to his feet. A pained groan escaped his lips. "Yvette?"

All around him, the temple lay in even greater ruins. He didn't know how long he was unconscious, but the late afternoon sunlight was streaming in and the evening chill was beginning to settle into his bones. He staggered through the temple, stumbling and tripping over the many rocks and debris strewn everywhere. "Yvette?"

The cry rang through the temple. But there was no answer. He somehow made his way to the middle, where he had assembled the pillars. Maybe he could do that again.

His hopes were dashed once he saw the room. All four pillars lay destroyed, their markings shattered beyond any hope of recognition. The stone on the shelf looked to be partially melted and fused together in its slot. He covered a hand over his mouth to quell the rising nausea that threatened to consume him once again.

"No," he whispered. "No, this cannot be... Yvette... Yvette, please... please answer me!" His voice grew to a crescendo, wailing his laments to the cracked ceiling with a shout that reverberated through the temple.

"Yvette!" He looked around, his eyes wild with panic. "I can do this. I can rebuild the pillars. I can recreate that... _thing_... that portal..."

He dropped to the floor and scooped up the rocks closest to him, turning them over as he studied their designs. Lines emerged, but none in that distinctive wave-like pattern from earlier. There was too much debris. The pillars were too damaged.

He couldn't rebuild them.

He staggered over to the shelf, tugging at the stone there. It looked to be completely fused into its base, like molten lava had been poured and cooled. He yanked at it. "Come loose," he shouted. "Get out of there!"

With one last shout, he lunged back, heaving the stone with him. His hands slipped. He shot backward, landing with a hard thud and skidding across the mosaic. With a feral snarl, he scrambled around for a nearby rock and clawed himself to his feet.

"Give her back to me!" he roared, hefting the rock high over his head and running at the molten stone shelf. He slammed the rock at the base where the two met. The rock pinged away. Again and again, he pounded the rock against the base, chips of his weapon flying off, sometimes stinging his cheeks as they ricocheted back at him.

"Give her back! Bring her back! Yvette!"

Again and again and again, until at last his hands were bloodied and bruised and his rock no more than half the size he started with. The shelf remained untarnished, looking as pristine as the moment he started. The words he screamed until his voice turned hoarse finally dissolved into meaningless cries of anguish.

He slid against the rough wall, breaking down into heart-wrenching sobs as he collapsed with his legs splayed out in front of him. The rock fell from his hand and clattered to the ground. Tears streamed down in endless rivers, washing away the dust and grime from his cheeks. He slowly lay down upon the ice-cold ground and sobbed, curling up into a ball, his heart fracturing further every moment that passed without his wife.

The sunshine in his life.

Gone.

How would he survive? How would he go on without her? What would Adrien say?

A sharp gasp punctuated his sobs. Adrien. How could he face his son after this? How could he look his innocent boy in the eyes and tell him that his mother was... gone? And it... he gulped. It was all his fault.

He lay for a long time on the hard floor, shards of stone cutting into his legs and the cold draining the little warmth that remained in him. The sun sank lower and lower until at last only a few glimmers of light remained. And he pushed himself up from the floor. Whatever happened, he needed to get help. Someone from the village would know.

Someone _had_ to know what happened.

He stumbled through the temple, leaning heavily against pillars to catch his breath and moving more on auto-pilot as his mind numbed over with the shock of his loss.

He never saw the displaced tile until it was too late.

He tripped, lunging forward. He held out his hands to soften the blow and landed with a grunt of pain. He looked back at the tile. It was covering a hole. Something grabbed his attention.

He crawled over and peered inside. A brown book with faded gold script and two semi-ornate boxes caught his eye. He lifted the book out and brushed away the dust. Then, he picked up the two boxes and set them aside. He opened the book.

His jaw dropped upon seeing that first page. His finger traced over the picture. The portal. It was there. In this book.

So then maybe... He quickly flipped through the rest of the book. Nothing but pictures of people in various costumes, holding various weapons. Nothing more about the portal. He paged back to the beginning. There it was. He was certain of it. That was the portal. He stroked one finger over it. The book was related to his wife vanishing. He knew it. It had to be. He sat there for a long time, looking at the ancient book.

His hands closed around the boxes. When he stood at long last, it was with a steady determination. Gone was the expression of stunned loss. In its place, Gabriel stood firm with clenched teeth and the book and two boxes in his hands and turned to the room where he last saw his wife. Grim determination shone in his eyes.

His lips curled into a snarl as he uttered a bitter vow.

"I will do whatever it takes to bring you back to me."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** This is the prompt that I am most proud of. I have had this idea of how Gabriel accidentally caused his wife's disappearance in my mind for a long time, and I was thrilled to be able to take advantage of this prompt to flesh it out into a somewhat coherent story._

 _Imagine if they build Gabriel Agreste up all season long into a horrible person (they're on course right now) and then just toss this absolutely devastating origins story at us for him. He was happy – blissfully happy; he was a loving, affectionate man. A total sap like Adrien who did stupidly romantic things often. And then, it's his fault his wife vanished. His other half. The love of his life. The person who makes his soul sing with joy. Imagine how that could change him... where he's desperate to do **anything** to bring her back, so lost in his blind grief that a part of him died with her._

 _I know Gabriel is probably wildly out of character at first, but I intentionally kept that to show the complete absolute disconnect between Gabriel pre-disappearance and Gabriel post-disappearance. He's earned a spot in Adrien's heart and Adrien quite clearly looks up to Gabriel. I don't see current canon-Gabriel as being the kind of figure to have earned such lofty spots in Adrien's life by acting like he does in the show. He had to have been a better person at one point in time. We've glimpsed such potential in him all throughout season 1._

 _ **That's** the Gabriel Agreste I love. The man he **might have been**. The man he **still could be**. This is why I defend Gabriel Agreste with such passion._


End file.
